Thanks to our Heroes of Faith
In my blog yesterday, I spoke about the holy and faithful ones that the Apostle Paul wrote to in his letter to the Colossians. I should have added to that blog “Happy November”and “Happy All Saints Day!
What a great start to this beautiful “Thanksgiving” month with talking about our HEROES of faith! All Saints Day isn’t about just remembering them, but we are encouraged to imitate them. They devoted their lives to God and were Christ’s Light bearers. Many were martyred for their faith.
The thought of being martyred for my faith doesn’t sound enticing, but desiring to be devoted to God, dependent on Him, calling on Him every day and being Christ’s light bearers ON PURPOSE, may inch us closer to sainthood too.
Today, November 2nd, is All Souls Day, when we acknowledge our loved ones who have passed on. We embrace our memories with them and the great hope of meeting up with them in heaven.
On this day, I remember my fiery-preacher grandfather, my angel grandmother, my precious mom and devoted dad, my beloved late husband, Ron, my dear mother and father-in-law, all three of my siblings and many others who influenced and impacted my life.
On this day I get to admit that I miss them. I’m not even ashamed to shed a few tears for them. After all, Jesus wept over the death of His friend, Lazarus. I don’t shed tears because I lack faith or because my faith is weak. I shed tears because I miss them. It’s okay. It’s just temporary because I carry on with the joys of today here and now, mixed with the joy of knowing I’ll see them again one day.
Those of us who have a relationship with Jesus Christ, look at death as leaving our “temporary” home on earth to go to our home sweet, eternal home in heaven. But, many consider death an unpleasant topic and don’t even want to discuss the subject.
Here’s a positive way of looking at death. This earth is our internship for heaven. Maybe you’ve been to a Disney theme park and you waited in an ever-long line for a ride. Once you are closer to the ride, you are put in a holding area until the ride’s present passengers exit. Then the doors or the gates are opened to board the ride.
This earth is the “holding room” for the ride of our lives. We will all eventually die so death should be our friend and not our enemy. All Saints Day and All Souls Day offer us a wonderful, consoling, and beautiful way of looking at death. I continue to let Jesus make sense of it all for me! And, quite frankly, in my believing — the talk about heaven keeps getting sweeter and sweeter every day!
But until then my heart will go on singing. Until then with joy I’ll carry on. Until the day my eyes behold the city, until the day God calls me home.
And, that will be the day, I’ll be joyfully singing “Good-bye, World, Good-bye!”